Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and University of Maryland seek court permission to
sue Elpida Memory Inc. over alleged patent infringement that
could jeopardize the bankrupt memory-chip maker’s ability to
produce and import products in the U.S.

The schools want U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi
to lift the so-called automatic stay that shields bankrupt
companies from litigation so they can pursue a lawsuit against
Elpida in federal court, according to court documents filed
today in Wilmington, Delaware.

Since at least 2004, Elpida has been misappropriating its
invention -- certain methods for cutting links between
interconnected electrical circuits with a laser -- to make its
memory chips, MIT and UMD argue in court papers.

The patent claims “could significantly impact” Elpida’s
“ability to produce and import DRAM products into the United
States,” lawyers for the schools said in court papers. Elpida
and Micron “have indicated these capabilities lie at the heart
of the debtor’s proposed sale.”

The Tokyo-based chipmaker, which makes dynamic random
access memory chips, has agreed to sell the company to Boise,
Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc. for about 200 billion yen
($2.5 billion) as part of the reorganization.

U.S. sales generated about 11 percent of Elpida’s 2011
revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Damages resulting from the alleged infringement are “quite
significant,” the schools said in court papers, without giving
an estimate. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reexamined the
patent earlier this year and confirmed the invention’s
patentability.

Japan Bankruptcy

Elpida, the last Japanese maker of computer-memory chips,
filed for bankruptcy reorganization in Japan in February,
listing debt of about 448 billion yen ($5.4 billion). A month
later the company sought protection under Chapter 15 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code, which allows foreign companies reorganizing
abroad to protect their assets from creditors and lawsuits in
the U.S.

Giorgio Bovenzi, a lawyer representing Elpida in the U.S.
bankruptcy case, declined to comment on MIT and UMD’s request.

The case is In re Elpida Memory Inc., 12-10947, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).